MCC’s grass will soon be greener… Country club replacing all its putting surfaces
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The surfaces of all 18 putting greens, as well as the practice green, are being completely replaced, under the watchful eye of course superintendent Jeff Stewart, new pro Dave Normand and the Champions Turf Farm, which is replacing the bent grass which grew on the greens with their own Champions Bermuda.
Stewart said on Wednesday that the process began on July 2, and the new greens should be ready for play in just a few weeks.
‘It’s a lot of work, but we expect these new greens to be ready for play in eight weeks,’ he said. ‘And I think our members are going to be really pleased with the greens when they’re finished.
‘Bent is very expensive to maintain, so going to the new grass is a big benefit. Plus, the Champions Bermuda they’re putting in is being used on a lot of courses all over the country, and people seem to really like the way it plays.’
The process of changing the grass on 18 different holes is an arduous one, but begins with a simple step ‘ kill the old grass.
A special mixture of ‘Roundup’ was used for that purpose, and once the grass had died, as much of it as possible was removed before the greens were aerfied.
Sand is added to each green and raked smooth, and new sod is placed by hand where needed around the collars of the putting surface.
The sprigs of Champions Bermuda are then brought in from the company’s farm in Texas, having been kept wet and cool in refrigerated tractor-trailers on their trip to Tennessee. The new grass is sown by hand on each green, and is followed by more sand and a heavy, steady dose of watering.
In addition to the new grass, the slope of a few of the club’s greens was also changed, including the par-5 12th, which is being changed from a slope of nearly 6 percent to a more level 2 to 2 1/2 percent.
Stewart said the entire process should be completed, and the greens ready for players, by Sept. 1.